Program: A 9,600-square-foot office for Rottet Studio's Los Angeles practice. Located on the seventh floor of City National Plaza in the city’s downtown area, the office includes a central open-plan work area, a conference room, and a finish and samples library.

Design concept and solution: Working with ideas of exposure and enclosure, the architects wanted their office to feel as though it were hovering above the city. The low-ceilinged space was gutted for their renovation, and they filled it with floating walls and ceiling panels: the elevator bank and the reception area are defined by articulated walls that end a few inches above the floor. To enhance this sense of suspension, Rottet lit the walls from underneath, using concealed fluorescent tube lighting and mirrors to produce a steady glow. To create the illusion of depth—and extra height—the architects suspended white panels below the existing black ceiling so that it appears to recede. The Rottet team restricted their color palette to black, white, and neutral—white marble floors, nude carpet—to reiterate the contrast between positive and negative space.

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